Following his third round, Phil Mickelson said he thought he may have a chance on Sunday if he was able to shoot a round in the 60s. He came out and did just that and is now the leader in the clubhouse at 3-under.
2013 British Open leaderboard: Phil Mickelson takes commanding lead at Muirfield
Phil Mickelson is now alone at the top of the leaderboard and he leads by three strokes.
Mickelson shot a 5-under 66 on Sunday, thanks in large part to an excellent closing stretch. He made the turn at 2-under and was 1-under on his round heading to No. 13. Back-to-back birdies moved him into the red for the tournament with the difficult closing stretch still to play. He bogeyed No. 15 and No. 16 on Saturday, but managed to come away with pars on both holes Sunday, including an excellent saving putt on the 16th.
He hit a 3-wood off the tee on the 17th, then hit another 3-wood on his second shot, running it up on the green from more than 300 yards out. His eagle putt came up short, but left him an easy tap-in birdie to move to 2-under. Mickelson closed out his round well, drilling his tee shot on No. 18 into the fairway. His approach into the green was excellent, catching the slope perfectly and setting up another birdie opportunity.
He canned the breaking putt for yet another birdie, capping off a tremendous final round. His 66 matched the lowest round of the tournament, besting the 4-under 67 Ian Poulter shot on Sunday.
After the round, Mickelson celebrated with his longtime caddie Jim Mackay.
While Mickelson is in at 3-Under, Adam Scott and Lee Westwood are two strokes off the lead as they enter the final stretch. Scott took over the lead at 2-under, but back-to-back bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes dropped him back to even. Another bogey dropped him four off the lead at 1-over. Westwood has not made a birdie since the fifth hole and is even-par.
Tiger Woods notched birdies at No. 12 and No. 14, but it may be too little too late as a bogey on No. 15 dropped him to 2-over and five strokes behind Mickelson. Barring an incredible closing stretch, Woods’ 15th major will have to wait until at least the PGA Championship.
Here is a quick look at the leaderboard:
| Place | Player | Score | Thru |
| 1 | Phil Mickelson | -3 | F |
| 2 | Lee Westwood | E | 14 |
| T3 | Ian Poulter | 1 | F |
| T3 | Henrik Stenson | 1 | 16 |
| T3 | Adam Scott | 1 | 15 |
| T6 | Hideki Matsuyama | 2 | F |
| T6 | Zach Johnson | 2 | 16 |
| T6 | Tiger Woods | 2 | 15 |
| T6 | Hunter Mahan | 2 | 14 |
| 10 | Francesco Molinari | 3 | F |
| T11 | Brandt Snedeker | 4 | F |
| T11 | Angel Cabrera | 4 | 16 |
| T13 | Justin Leonard | 5 | F |
| T13 | Miguel A. Jimenez | 5 | F |
| T15 | Eduardo De La Riva | 6 | F |
| T15 | Harris English | 6 | F |
| T15 | Charl Schwartzel | 6 | F |
| T15 | Danny Willett | 6 | F |
| T15 | Matt Kuchar | 6 | F |
| T15 | Keegan Bradley | 6 | F |
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